Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball ended its season with a 64-54 loss to Gustavus Adolphus in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Collegeville.
SJU (16-10, 14-6 MIAC) led by as much as seven (41-34) with 11:14 remaining but made only three of its final 16 shot attempts (18.8 percent) to end the game. In total, the Johnnies shot 28 percent (7-for-25) in the second half to the Gusties' 65 percent (13-for-20). GAC made nine of its last 13 shot attempts, including a 2-for-3 showing from three-point range.
Gustavus (16-10, 11-9 MIAC) made its first six shots to start the game before cooling off, making five of its last 19 as SJU took a 28-23 lead into the break.
The visitors out-scored SJU 14-0 in the paint, 8-3 off turnovers and 6-0 in second-chance points in the second half alone.
The Johnnies finished at a season-low 35.3 percent (18-for-51) for the game, including a 4-for-16 showing (1-for-10 in the second half) from behind the arc, and missed only three free throws (14-for-17). Two of the three misses, however, were front ends of a one-and-one opportunity during the final 10:29.
Junior guard
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) led SJU with 14 points, while classmate
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with 13. Freshman post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) added eight points and four rebounds before fouling out with 5:18 to go.
Gary Cooper led the Gusties with 16 points. Despite a narrow 49-44 edge in points, GAC's starting five shot 55.9 percent (19-for-34) to the Johnnies' 34.9 percent (15-for-43) in the game (64.3 percent to 27.3 percent in the second half).
The three worst shooting performances of SJU's 2014-15 season were against Gustavus: 36.1 percent (69-59 loss on Jan. 17), 37.7 percent (50-47 win on Feb. 21) and tonight's 35.3 percent (18-for-51). The Johnnies shot 49.7 percent (641-for-1,291) from the floor, including 42.5 percent (172-for-405) from three-point land, in the other 23 games. SJU ended the regular-season as the MIAC's leader in shooting percentage (.484), three-pointers made (143), three-point shooting percentage (.414), free-throw percentage (.735) and defense (.427 shooting percentage) in 20 conference games.
